Up the Mountain
by foggywizard
Summary: Lunark goes up the mountain to see the shaman for advice. Pre-joining the Union. Co-written with scribensdraconis


First RP with scribens that has just been sitting for a while. We aren't sure if we want to post the rest or not yet, so just the first chapter because it can stand alone. If there's interest, then more might get posted, but otherwise... well, it's not our best work, so leaving it unpublished is fine.

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Lunark stood at the mountain's base. No, her nerves would do her no good here. She was a warrior now, renowned for her courage and skill in battle. And yet... She needed guidance. Between her supposed comrades' jealousy and the...uncomfortable praise she was getting from some of her teachers, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Grow even stronger? Of course! But was it even worth it if no one would challenge her? If it meant she had to alienate everyone? Her Lord might have said that they were all competitors, but... Lunark swallowed and began her trek up.

These mountains had changed in the past centuries - some areas of them were almost devoid of life, and those who knew them well knew that something past the course of plain change was happening. Still - the so-called Wise Woman did not give up on the place she had called her home for soon a thousand years. She had made herself a home, stone upon stone. Someone new would come to her. The trees whispered it- and while her future guest was still on her way, the old warrior descended to the mountain creek to fill an old brass kettle with water she heated on top of the fire in the middle of the hut she had built herself. Her guest was almost there, now within reach of her senses. Running her fingers over the different jars on one of the shelves, she picked up a few, opened them, smelled them, set them aside, reached for bound-up bundles of dried herbs and flowers. One should be as polite as to offer a cup of tea, after all.

Ascending was easy. Lunark remembered playing in these mountains as a child, how winded she'd have gotten running even a quarter as far as she'd come. Now, the thinned air didn't bother her. Now, she could finally meet with the shaman. She didn't know if she'd actually be able to find the woman, yet she continued anyway.

Chamomile, bach flowers and the last of her dried linden flowers were steeping in the kettle by the time the pup reached her humble abode, and the shaman, once known as Xanthe, turned towards the provisory door. Her bare feet made no sound on the worn, dusty dirt outside her hut. "The trees told me a guest would come my way."

The pines had led the way. The rumours said she was in the forest. Lunark eventually came to a halt outside a small hut. "Yes. I seek your guidance, wise shaman."

Of course, there was no other reason to seek out those who left behind what others might call 'civilisation'. Gesturing for the pup to follow, she turned around and returned inside. Her knee made a cracking sound when she sat down on an old wolf's fur near the small fire she kept at most times.

Lunark followed and continued to stand. It was the shaman's right to sit. It was her home, and she had seniority. Lunark had not been granted leave to sit yet as a guest or a student. The fire was warm though. Enjoyable, compared to the chill the mountains tended to always carry.

"There should be two clay cups on the shelf near the garlic. I have prepared tea."

"Of course, wise elder." Lunark retrieved the cups and handed one to her senior, before standing awkwardly with her own. Was she following protocol properly? She never knew with these things. She just about had a heart attack every time the Lord came to inspect the warriors.  
Sensing the nervousness of the young woman who had come to see her, she rose from her position once more to fill their cups with fresh tea before sitting back down. "Sit, child, wherever you please."

Lunark let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, wise elder. I appreciate your hospitality." She sat in front of the fire, directly opposite the shaman. She came for guidance, but did she even know what she was supposed to ask? Foolish, foolish puppy. And she's supposed to be the best and brightest of her cohorts?

The cup was warm in her hands. She could hear the young wolf's heartbeat as clear as her own and the wind in the crowns of the trees that surrounded them. The crackle of the fire drowned out the remote splashing of the creek. "Take your time, child, and when you are ready, speak."

Lunark dipped at her tea, letting its warmth suffuse her body before speaking carefully. "My people. How can I best help them? I am but a new warrior, but they are pack." The Lord said that only the strongest would survive. That the weak deserved to die. But that wasn't right, was it? Those that were weak should be helped to become strong, and it would be better for everyone.

"What is it your people need?" A simple question, though one she had heard many times. One she, too, once asked herself. She imagined that back then, the answers have been easier.

"I...do not know." Her brow dipped in her contemplation. Her tribe. It was missing something. Or something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it.

Xanthe took a sip of tea. Like many before, the young warrior fell silent when asked this question. She should be given time to think.

Lunark began to look genuinely upset. "I... truly do not know. What is wrong... it has always been wrong. I don't know what is needed for it to be right. I don't know what it is that needs to be righted!" With a shake of her head, she went back to contemplating. This was important. She had to figure it out. Otherwise, how could she help?

"Always, or for a long time?"

"If it has ever been right, I am too young to know." If it _was_ right, once, what was the difference? What made the tribe_ now_ so different from the _correct_ tribe of the past?

"While the Elders lead, the young must follow. Those who will be leaders one day, however, they must follow and learn first."

Lunark runs a finger around the rim of her cup before taking another sip. "Watch and learn then..." She could do that. Maybe she'd figure it out, someday.

"No sage was ever born wise."

Lunark nodded, looking contemplatively into her cup. "I understand now wise elder." She downed the rest of her tea and went to place the empty cup on the shelf. She had her answer, and the shaman had excluded herself from the tribe for a reason. "I thank you for hospitality."

The woman nodded slowly. "I thank you for your open ear."

Lunark went to leave, but halted in the doorway, turning slightly to speak. "Wise elder...would it be presumptuous of me to seek counsel again?"

"No. I am where I can be found so I can be found."

She...had not considered that possibility. "I see." Which meant that others could, and probably should, speak with her. She'd suggest it to Kentas sometime. The poor boy looked so lost sometimes. With that thought, she made her way back down the mountain, freshly ready to learn.


End file.
